Sunday, May 31, 2009

Seeking to fill a void in the scholarly publications realm, the founders of Pronetos are this week issuing a sneak preview of Open Access Press. Open Access Press helps scholars and learned societies in the humanities and social sciences bring print journals on line. Using the world’s most ubiquitous journal management platform, the Open Journal System, Open Access Press works with publishers to convert existing journals to an online, Open Access format, or create a new digital Open Access Journal. More details will follow next week. Sneak peak at http://openaccesspress.com.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

A large catalogue of Russian dissertations is now available online. There is a substantial selection of archaeology titles, many, perhaps most of them otherwise unavailable. The titles listed appear to be machine translated into English. Twenty-five page samples of each title are offered, but were not available for any that I tried.

The service promises, for a reasonable fee, to be able to supply a pdf of the each dissertation in one day, or for slightly more a pdf + machine translation in two days. Prices for pdf + professional translation depend on the size of the work and requires 5-10 days.

I have not yet tried to order a copy. If anyone has, I would appreciate comment below.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Journal of reviewed articles, founded 1949, focused on the history of Man and his material culture, environmental changes or modern methods of archaeology, especially in the region of Central Europe, publishes brief original studies, contributions and discussions, reviews of Czech and foreign literature.

The main topics covered by this journal are:• historical-artistic knowledge of cultural heritage (author, artistic movement, artistic age, artistic techniques, educational society and characteristics of its culture, socioeconomic context, the people ordering and financing the masterpieces and targetaudience)• document and information research• book production in its historical context• use of appropriate methodologies and analytical techniques for the characterizationof historical masterpieces that are part of the cultural heritage and for the evaluationof the preservation state• environmental monitoring: assessment of atmospheric pollution and correlated decayof monuments and historical-artistic setting• micro and macroclimatic monitoring in confined spaces (museums, libraries, archives,churches...)• artistic diagnosis• experiences in cultural heritage conservation• problems in the operating process of restoration• valuation of suitability of products used for restoration, conservation, and maintenanceof cultural heritage• computer science and cultural heritage: methods for data elaboration and cataloguing• virtual revising of written texts and illustrated books• study and enhance the value of archives and book documents• setting of historical architectures• conservation, cataloguing and elaboration (virtual or not) of photographs• others (education, safeguard and conservation...)

The Journal of Archaeology in the Low Countries offers the opportunity to the archaeological community to present its research to a wider, international audience. It will cover the full archaeological time scale, from the earliest Palaeolithic up till investigations of subrecent times, like those of shipwrecks and fortifications. With the ‘Low Countries’ of the title both The Netherlands, Belgium and adjacent areas are meant, or - in geographical terms - the Lower Rhine Basin. The Journal is open to all contributions on research within or of relevance for this region. The main focus of the journal is our understanding of former societies, their differentiation and changes through time, and their relation to the natural environment, not only within the narrow limits of the main area of interest, but essentially in relation to wider patterns and developments. The Journal welcomes contributions ranging from theoretical reflections, broad overviews and analyses to the presentation of data and (recent) discoveries, which are of more than local interest. The Journal distinguishes main articles of 5000-10.000 words and short contributions of 1000-2500 words.

The Journal is open to contributions of academic level, irrespective of the employment and nationality of the authors. It is explicitly meant for both the academic world as well as those working in the so-called commercial or contractual archaeology. An Editorial Board of seven members, with expertise in the main fields covered by the Journal and supported by an editorial secretary, will be responsible in the first line for the assessment of the relevance of the papers. External peers will assess the papers offered purely on their scientific merits, before they are accepted for publication.

The Journal of Archaeology in the Low Countries is basically published as an e-journal, but also available in the Printing on Demand option, both as a subscription on the series as for the individual volumes. There will be two issues each year in May and October.

The Oriental Institute Electronic Publications Initiative. Originally posted April 9, 2008. Updated April 30, 2007 with the addition of more CAD and CHD volumes; updated September 16, 2008 with the addition of OIP 130; updated January 6, 2009 with the addition of OIP 135; Updated January 27, 2009 with the addition of OIMP 29. Updated March 16, 2009 with the addition of OIS 5. Update April 28, 2009 with the addition of a suite of older OI volumes on Egyptian subjects.

Starting in 2005, the Oriental Institute committed to digitizing all of its publications and making them available online, without charge. The minimum for each volume, old and new, current and forthcoming, will be a Portable Document Format (PDF) version following current resolution standards. New publications appear online at or near the time they appear in print. Older publications will be processed as time and funding permits. More than one hundred volumes are now online.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

To better serve your needs, we have settled upon a new system of ensuring that you have online access via JSTOR to all of ASOR’s publications. For a nominal fee of $15 per year, you will be granted access to the entire ASOR archives going back as far as 1919, including:

If you are interested in subscribing to this new program of JSTOR access, please log-in to our online membership and subscription platform by clicking here. Enter the online store and select “JSTOR,” and you will be on your way to enjoying the entire ASOR catalog from the comfort of your computer.

Best,

ASOR Membership Services

Clicking on the links above will tell you if you already have access through your home institution, which will be the case for most academics affiliated with an organization. If not, tt's very easy to subscribe online. I'll be grateful for feedback from anyone who has taken advantage of this offer on how well it works.

The Oriental Institute Electronic Publications Initiative. Originally posted April 9, 2008. Updated April 30, 2007 with the addition of more CAD and CHD volumes; updated September 16, 2008 with the addition of OIP 130; updated January 6, 2009 with the addition of OIP 135; Updated January 27, 2009 with the addition of OIMP 29. Updated March 16, 2009 with the addition of OIS 5. Update April 28, 2009 with the addition of a suite of older OI volumes on Egyptian subjects.

Starting in 2005, the Oriental Institute committed to digitizing all of its publications and making them available online, without charge. The minimum for each volume, old and new, current and forthcoming, will be a Portable Document Format (PDF) version following current resolution standards. New publications appear online at or near the time they appear in print. Older publications will be processed as time and funding permits. More than one hundred volumes are now online.

The primary focus of the project is notice and comment on open access material relating to the ancient world, but I will also include other kinds of networked information as it comes available.

The ancient world is conceived here as it is at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University, my academic home at the time AWOL was launched. That is, from the Pillars of Hercules to the Pacific, from the beginnings of human habitation to the late antique / early Islamic period.

AWOL is the successor to Abzu, a guide to networked open access data relevant to the study and public presentation of the Ancient Near East and the Ancient Mediterranean world, founded at the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago in 1994. Together they represent the longest sustained effort to map the development of open digital scholarship in any discipline.